The largest port on the east coast of Yorke peninsula, Ardrossan is an outlet for barley and wheat grown locally. It is from Ardrossan that locally quarried dolomite is also shipped. Ardrossan is a popular place to catch Blue Swimmer Crabs.
Where is it?: South Australia: Yorke Peninsula. Ardrossan is 148 km north west of Adelaide; 24 km east of Maitland; 23 metres above sea level.
Lookouts: A large open-cut dolomite mine was opened by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) in the 1950s for use in its steel manufacture at Whyalla on the Eyre Peninsula and Port Kembla in New South Wales. Situated 2 km south of the town, a lookout offers superb views over the One Steel dolomite mine and across the Gulf St Vincent.
Things to see and do:
Today, tourism plays a large part in Ardrossan's economy with the town being a popular destination for Adelaide residents on weekends. While it doesn't have an attractive swimming beach, it is a popular location to catch fish and blue crabs which are abundant during the months of September to April each year.
The historic shipwreck of the sailing ship Zanoni (1867) is open to divers and is one of South Australia's top dive sites. The wreck is located approximately 15 miles offshore and is a popular scuba diving location. This ship originally sank on 11 February 1867 and was discovered on 17 April 1983 after 126 years. It is one of the best preserved examples of 19th century merchant sailing vessels in Australia.
Ardrossan & District Historical Museum is located in the original factory that made Stump Jump Ploughs, which were invented at Ardrossan. It has a very good display on the history of the stumpjump plough and the usual collection of folk memorabilia including tractors and farm machinery. Open Sunday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. as well as school and public holidays or by appointment Tel: (08) 8837 3062. The plough, which was invented by Richard Smith, was patented in 1877 and manufactured by the Smith Brothers. At its peak it produced 14 ploughs per week.
About Ardrossan
The town was largely initiated by wheat farmers and wheat transporters in the late 19th century who needed infrastructure to ship their produce across the Gulf St. Vincent to Port Adelaide. The site was chosen near an old boat landing at Parara. Ardrossan was named by Governor Sir James Fergusson after a sea port in Ayrshire, Scotland which he had previously represented in Parliament.
IArdrossan is famous as the location of Clarence Smith's factory where he manufactured the Stump-jump plough between 1880 and 1935, one of South Australia's first and most important inventions.
Brief history: The early European settlers in the area lived in dugouts. The town was surveyed in 1870. It became a busy grain port for the surrounding district after the jetty was built in 1877. Produce was carried along the jetty by horse-drawn trolleys to the ships and hand loaded by skilful deckhands to ensure the load was secure in rough seas. Steamers also provided a passenger service to Port Adelaide on Tuesdays and Fridays, which took four hours to make the crossing in good weather. South Australia's first silo was erected at the site in 1952 and today's silos can handle in excess of 250,000 tonnes of grain.
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